Monthly Archives: June 2012

Monster Behind The Wheel, a novel of supernatural horror by collaborating Midwest authors Michael McCarty and Mark McLaughlin, has been released as an ebook and is now available from the publisher, MedallionPress.com, and also Amazon.com. The Oct. 2011 release provides a fitting resurrection for the book, which is now alive again after two previous deaths.

“The first publisher to accept the novel was Sarob Press in the U.K.,” said Mark McLaughlin, who works as a marketing and public relations director when he isn’t writing scary books. “But, they went out of business before they could publish the book. That was the book’s first death.”

(Michael McCarty & Mark McLaughlin at the Midwest Writing Center)

“The novel was eventually published in 2008 by Corrosion Press as a collector’s limited-edition hardcover,” said Michael McCarty, who has worked as a stand-up comedian and freelance journalist. “Because it was a limited edition, only 150 numbered copies were printed and they sold out quickly. So in a way, the book died a second time when the print-run sold out, since it was no longer available.”
The Corrosion Press edition of the novel was chosen by the Horror Writers Association as a finalist for the Bram Stoker Award for Best First Novel. “Even though Mark and I have written more than 20 books apiece, including solo and collaborative projects, Monster Behind The Wheel was a first novel for both of us,” McCarty said. “The earlier books were either story collections, poetry collections, or nonfiction.” He added that he is currently working with McLaughlin on more books, including a sequel to Monster.Monster Behind the Wheel tells the story of Jeremy Carmichael, a young pizza-delivery worker who become embroiled in a supernatural adventure which features a muscle-car with a dark secret and hordes of zombies, including a wicked, flirtatious zombie named Fiona Bloom.

(The original cover of MONSTER BEHIND THE WHEEL)

Both McCarty and McLaughlin are pleased that the ebook edition is giving new life to their novel. “Limited edition books are great for collectors, and certainly we will do more in the future,” said McLaughlin, “but it’s good to know that this new ebook can now reach a larger national audience without any quantity limitations.”